Have i chosen the right frame size?!?!?!

[LFB01]

So i test rode a rail 5 in large today and had a absolute blast. It was mainly CX about 36 miles with some fun descents thrown in. As a result i ordered a 9.8 in large ( i felt a bit sick saying yes!!). On reflection and looking at the sizing info on the Trek site i fall in the medium frame size category range rather than the large, i am 171.5cm and have a 31" inside leg.

I am now panicking that i should have brought a medium, the shop that i demoed it from did not have a medium for me to try so i have little comparison. Having said that the bike felt super stable, fast and playful and capable of a lot more i could throw at it at the moment.

After demoing a Levo medium last weekend and doing 46+ miles over to rides on it, it felt a touch to compact reach wise.

What frame sizes are people riding and what height are you? I have found a medium i could road demo that is a good 2hrs drive away which when typing this now sounds like a good thing to do.
What are other rail owners thoughts?

 

[Beekeeper]

I’m 6ft and have a 19inch which I guess is classed as Large by Cube. I’m sure I could even have gone up a size. I’d rather have a bike that was a bit too big than a bit too small.

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

every case is different but.. im right on the edge between L and XL
I settled on the XL because im more of a adventure rider than a bike parker.
I spent 2 months panicking that I had bought the wrong size and messing with the fit.
then after about 10 weeks it all clicked.

now, this may be that its my first 29'er and my first e-bike and that because my last bike was a 26'er I am more used to perching up high with a steep head angle.

once I dropped the seat from its place in the clouds, got used to flat pedals a little bit and added a higher rise bar the bike feels perfect..
youll get there

 

[Nicho]

So i test rode a rail 5 in large today and had a absolute blast. It was mainly CX about 36 miles with some fun descents thrown in. As a result i ordered a 9.8 in large ( i felt a bit sick saying yes!!). On reflection and looking at the sizing info on the Trek site i fall in the medium frame size category range rather than the large, i am 171.5cm and have a 31" inside leg.

I am now panicking that i should have brought a medium, the shop that i demoed it from did not have a medium for me to try so i have little comparison. Having said that the bike felt super stable, fast and playful and capable of a lot more i could throw at it at the moment.

After demoing a Levo medium last weekend and doing 46+ miles over to rides on it, it felt a touch to compact reach wise.

What frame sizes are people riding and what height are you? I have found a medium i could road demo that is a good 2hrs drive away which when typing this now sounds like a good thing to do.
What are other rail owners thoughts?

Last year I bought a Giant Trance SXE+0 Pro MEDIUM from my LBS (they only had the MEDIUM in stock).

They did not have any demo Giant bikes, but did let me ride it up and down the pavement outside the shop.

The shop owner brought in his own SMALL Trance E+2 for me to try against the MEDIUM.

According to the Giant size chart I should be right in the middle of the SMALL frame range, but to me it felt very short and cramped. When I stood up over the bike I was touching the handlebar and the downtube!

The MEDIUM frame felt much better to me, and gave me much more stand over height, as when I stood up I was further back from the handlebars, and over the lower part of the downtube, and in fact it felt very like my old Stumjumper which was also a MEDIUM.

The moral of this story is that manufacturers' size charts are a VERY rough guide because they work on the overall height of the rider. In reality riders have a great variety of upper body / leg length ratios, which means that the overall height guide is really meaningless.

The only way you can be sure it is the right size is to sit on it and ride it about, even if this is only in the shop carpark or outside on the pavement. It only took me a few seconds of riding each size to confirm that the MEDIUM was the right one for me.

I hope this helps you to feel better about your choice; if you have tried the LARGE and it felt right for you then it probable IS the right size for you.

 

[Pdoz]

Relax , the difference between l and m can be changed by changing stem length / position. So unless you already prefer to ride a shorter bike, trust the initial impression that a large feels right to you and ignore what some pen pusher in the marketing dept thinks you need. We're talking trek here, the company who tried to create a market slot by sizing their bikes in between the conventional sizes and then make their 18.5 into a 19 with an unfashionably long stem. Am I right they have 50 mm stems when everyone else has 30-35 mm ?

Disclaimer - I spent 2 years believing I'm made a mistake buying a compact for a medium old geometry giant full e pro. After 2 years I rode a few size l trek / merida / scotts and recognised I really like how this thing feels FOR ME.

 

[Paul Mac]

I'm 175cm and got the medium Rail 9.8
I had a medium levo 2019 also and the Rail is about 10mm more reach.
I think you can ride either.
My problem with the large is the seat tube height. It is 20 mm taller than the medium and also the dropper post is 170mm as opposed to 150mm on the medium., so as you can see you have it 40mm taller.
This resulted in me having to slam the post as low as it could go on the large.

 

[Gary]

You're kinda short for a Large. But so what? If that's what you're happiest on who's to argue?

One thing folk don't really "get" about Emtbs tho is that going larger means they are waaaaay less manoeuvrable and playful. Whereas all that weight down low makes even short/small Eebs more stable/planted than their non motorised equivalent.

I reckon it'll plow like a beast but be pretty hard work for you to bunny hop and manual.

Fwiw I'm a good 4" taller than you and rode an XL rail a few weeks ago and pretty much hated how un playful it was in comparison to my Small Esommets.. We're probably not after the same ride characteristics tho

 

[steve_sordy]

The geometry of different bikes are (would you believe it?) ....different! Not everyone 5'7" has the same leg length or arm length, so one size medium bike feels better than another. When you think about it, you can change lots of stuff on a bike to make it fit well rather than just OK.
Saddle up and down, fore and aft, angle.
Lever position and angle
Bar height (move spacers above or below the stem)
Bar rotation
Stem length
Bar width
Crank length

I had this sort of problem when looking at Canyon bikes when they first came on to the UK market. The Large size was too short, but the XL was too tall. I could probably have made either bike work for me, but there were other bike brands whose geometry suited me better.
At 6'1" (185.4cm) I am naturally a large in most of the bike brands I have come across, but I have happily ridden a medium all day when the hire shop was out of large sizes.

You should find this article by Bike Radar quite useful. It is about finding the perfect fit on an MTB.
Technique: Perfect mountain bike fit

 

[Rawry]

I have the 9.8 rail and i am 174 cm and went for the large and find it perfect i had the Giant SX 0 PRO before this in the medium

 

[LFB01]

Thanks all for your advise and info. I just took out a large and medium and kept swapping from one to the other and straight away the medium felt so much more nimbler/play full/ragable which is how I like my bikes. I am looking forward to Wednesday when I hopefully take delivery, it’s like being an excited kid again, all be it at 41years old! Thanks again Tom

 

[WilkyWay]

If it felt right, it’s the right size. Size guides are exactly that - guides. Like a lot of things it’s all down to personal preference. My dad had a ride on my Large Fuel EX and said it felt too big for him and he’s slightly taller than me, but to me it feels just right.
Wait until it comes, set it up how you like it and ride it until the battery goes flat!

For reference I ride a large Rail 7, I’m 181cm and 33” inside leg. But don’t let that put you off.

 

[Good Times]

I'm 185cm and chose a large. You're medium every day of the week imo!

 

[dochabanero]

I’m 6.1” or 186cm - riding a size L. Perfect fit.

 

[markjl]

New rider looking at the Rail 7. Have not been able to find one to test. Specs say 77.3 cm stand over for medium. I'm 5'8 but have a small inseam of 29 inches or 30 with shoes. Anyone else with similar inseam ride the medium?

 

[LFB01]

New rider looking at the Rail 7. Have not been able to find one to test. Specs say 77.3 cm stand over for medium. I'm 5'8 but have a small inseam of 29 inches or 30 with shoes. Anyone else with similar inseam ride the medium?

Yes I am very similar size wise to you and brought a medium. Having gone through the whole process, if I was you I would definitely try to find on to ride. Having said that, size wise you are a medium.

 

[markjl]

Thanks for the reply. How do you like the bike?

 

[miPbiP]

Thanks all for your advise and info. I just took out a large and medium and kept swapping from one to the other and straight away the medium felt so much more nimbler/play full/ragable which is how I like my bikes. I am looking forward to Wednesday when I hopefully take delivery, it’s like being an excited kid again, all be it at 41years old! Thanks again Tom

I'm same dimensions as you Tom. We're dob on mediums.

 

[LFB01]

Thanks for the reply. How do you like the bike?

it’s brilliant in my opinion. Yes the motor is slightly noisier than the Levo’s and it is fairly torque’y when it comes in but I like that. I chose a 9.8 over a levo expert, plus I got great discount on it,

 

[Bomble]

Out of interest what kind of discount did you get?

 

[bluewater87]

I'm 6'2" (188cm) and test rode a large rail 7. It was unfortunately too small for me. My recent enduro and DH bikes are 488/490mm reach, so the rail's 465 felt considerably short in pretty much all aspects (climbing, flat pedaling, dh,). I'm sure an XL would be less playful though.
I'm considering ordering the XL at the moment. The high seat tube length on the xl vs the L (500mm vs 450) is a bit of a buzzkill

 

[Paul Mac]

I think at 6 2 you would be better off with the XL

 

[Yoak]

175cm and on a Medium. Prefer to size down if I have to. My Fuel Ex 7 is also a Medium. My brother is on a L, I don’t notice a huge difference though.